Is Histamine An Issue For Your Gut in Firestone CO?

By Dr. Samantha Boldt

Is Histamine an Issue for Your Gut? First of all, what is histamine in Firestone CO? If you do recognize the word, you probably associate it with allergies and symptoms of sneezing, runny nose, itching, and hives. What you may not know is that both digestive tract and skin issues can be caused by an abundance of histamine as well. Histamine is a naturally-occurring compound in the body that also be found in high levels in certain foods. When you're exposed to an allergen, histamine is released. Histamine then rallies white bloods cells to come neutralize the threat.

Symptoms of Histamine Intolerance in Firestone CO

Histamine intolerance is often a problem caused by too much histamine in the digestive tract. Even though the gut is where the issue is stemming from, it can produce a wide array of symptoms, such as skin flushing, hives, sinus and nasal congestion, itchy skin and eyes, bloating, diarrhea, heart rate changes and palpitations, blood pressure changes, and headaches.

Why does Histamine Build-Up?

The DAO enzyme breaks down histamine in our body. People who genetically have lower DAO or may have an issue making DAO due to some other reason, are more likely to have histamine intolerance symptoms. People who consume high levels of histamine via food, or foods that release histamine or inhibit DAO, are also more likely to suffer from histamine issues. Finally, certain medications block DAO. After a few months, allergic skin reactions and digestive problems become fairly common on certain meds.

Histamine Reduced Diet

Reducing the amount of histamine in the diet for month is one of the best ways to tell if you have histamine intolerance. The amount of histamine levels in food is still being researched and trying to be better understood. You will find that there are some foods that are debatable on whether or not they belong on a high histamine list, as well as some foods that we just don't know about.

It's important to remember that this isn't a histamine-free diet, it's a reduced histamine diet. As long as we take out the things we know have moderately-high to high histamine levels in them, we should still notice a difference if this is an issue for you. In the office, we give patients histamine-reduced food lists, but you can also find more info on-line. We can also use certain supplements and enzymes, such as DAO, to help reduce histamine levels during this time.

In the Long Run

If we discover that histamine intolerance is an issue, we'll first try to control the symptoms and actively lower histamine via diet and supplements. We then spend time working on repairing the gut, which is normally the cause of too much histamine build-up or reduced DOA. Hopefully, you'll become less and less reactive to histamine over time!